Solid 4-star read! The writing pulled me in right away—emotional, layered, and so well-paced. Jax’s journey of always feeling like second best was raw and real, and Blakely was a great balance—complex, not just the influencer stereotype. Their connection felt earned, and the tension was just right.

A L C • R E V I E W 🎧
Beneath the Hood by Emily Mcintire
Narrated by Brooke Bloomingdale & Liam DiCosimo

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
*NOW AVAILABLE*

This audiobook was dual POV and both Brooke and Liam did an amazing job bringing this book to life. I felt all the dramatic, raw emotions while I was listening to this audiobook, definitely recommend! ✨

The story follows Blakely and Jackson… I felt so much pain in Blakely’s character she experienced some deep stuff and struggles with her anxiety. Jackson is just the sweetest guy with a broken heart, he is a mechanic and hope to bring his dad’s dreams to life.

There is so much I can say but I don’t want to spoil this for anyone. If you want a good romance novel with age gap then definitely check this one out.

Thank you @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for sending a ALC. 🤗

#audiobooklover #audiobookreview #alcreview #audiobookrecommendation #bookcommunity

Overall this book was enjoyable. I do wish there was more to the story so I could feel more connected to the characters

This series is well written and I love that the book takes on a tough topics of eating disorders and PTSD. While the writing and narration are all fantastic, and the depth and character development is on point. I didn't care for the age gap in this particular novel. The MMC is nearly 30 and the FMC is 19, which is barely out of high school.

ACR audio copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to receive this book as an ARC because of how much I enjoyed the others in the series. McIntire’s writing is stellar here, as it is in the others. This also continues the series tradition of being very heavy and heartbreaking for a romance — this is NOT a rom com and goes heavily into OCD, eating disorders, PTSD and grief. For me, this wasn’t quite the right fit — while I’m fine with an age gap, a grown adult (almost 30) dating a literal teenager gave me the ick, and it didn’t help how immature the FMC came off. Not my favorite of the series, but you might enjoy it more if you can get past the creep factor.

2.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This has been my favorite in the series so far. I love that this book dove into more serious topics such as mental health and eating disorders. I think the author did a great job at tackling these topics with grace. Blakely has great character growth and I found her relatable. She was a tad juvenile but that’s to be expected as she’s only 19. I love age gap romances but I do wish she acted a bit older since our mmc is 28. Jackson cares so much for blake it was what kept me reading. Overall it was a cute read. I didn’t find myself super invested in any of the characters. I also found myself needing a bit more plot wise.
The female narrator did a great job and the male narrator was just alright, not my favorite.
3.5 stars

Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the ALC!

Okay, so I just finished "Beneath the Hood" and like, wow. Emily McIntire really went there with this one! It's an age gap, forbidden romance, and if you're into that super intense, angsty stuff, you're gonna eat it up.

So you've got Jackson, this older, kinda broken car guy, who gets this gig in Hollywood. But then he's suddenly in charge of watching Blakely, who's the boss's daughter and also this huge social media influencer. And she's only nineteen! Total red flag situation, right?

But here's the thing: Blakely seems to have it all on Instagram, but she's actually dealing with some really heavy stuff, like an eating disorder and crazy anxiety. And Jackson is the first person who actually *sees* her, past all the filters and perfect posts. Their connection is just so raw and real, even though he's like, nine years older and totally off-limits.

McIntire does such a good job with the sensitive topics. It's not just some fluffy romance; it actually deals with Blakely's struggles in a really honest way. You feel for her, seriously. And Jackson's trying to help her while dealing with his own baggage, which just adds to the whole drama.

My only minor thing is that sometimes the "forbidden" aspect felt a *little* drawn out, like, we get it, it's complicated. But honestly, their chemistry is fire, and you just want them to figure it out. Just a heads up, it's pretty mature and deals with some intense themes, so definitely check the trigger warnings if you need to!

Overall, it's a super emotional, really powerful read. If you're looking for a romance that's more than just surfacelevel, this one's for you. It's definitely staying with me.

This was so so good I love Emily and her work and I think it’s so underhyped! Definitely 100 recommend!!

I will preface this by saying I have not read the first books, and I don't feel like I missed any of the story and really enjoyed the characters.

Blakely is the "typical" rich California girl, who is in front of the camera and portrays herself one way, while in private she is actually struggling with panic attacks and an eating disorder. She is essentially left in the care of nannies and her body guard when her dad (a famous producer) leaves for his work. So she grows up alone in a city that can destroy you.

Jackson comes to CA to finish his dad's dream and build cars that will star in movies. But when the boss asks him to keep an eye on his daughter he ends up in a situation where he has to choose staying away from her or letting his heart take the reigns.

Age Gap
Boss's Daughter
Trauma (panic attacks, eating disorders, death)

I received an advance review copy audio version. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing Audio, for the opportunity to listen to this book. Brooke Bloomingdale and Liam DiCosimo did an amazing job narrating this audiobook

Story: 4.5 ⭐️
Steam: 4 🔥
Audio: 4 🎧
TW: obsessive thoughts, ED thoughts and actions

This age gap romance was super fun! I really enjoyed Jacks. I’m glad his story was enjoyable cause I’ve been loving him since book one! It was difficult to be in Blakey’s mind a lot of the book but it was great to watch her grow and heal.

Audiobook Performance: the narrators both did a wonderful job. The male narrator’s female voice needs a lot of work but other than that they both were great!
I will say that a trigger warning would be really helpful at the beginning of this audio. I was caught off guard by the obsessive thoughts regarding food and exercise. It could definitely be triggering to readers. I checked out the physical copy and the warning is there but it wasn’t read in the audiobook.

📖Beneath the Hood
✍️Emily Mcintire
📣 Liam DiCosimo & Brooke Bloomingdale
🎧 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Age Gap, taboo, daughter of his boss.
“I’ll go find somebody who will” “Over my dead body”

The performance made the tension even thicker, the spice more vivid, and the emotional moments hit deeper. A few transitions felt a bit rushed, but overall, it elevated the story in all the right ways.

Thank you to NetgAlley and Blackstone publishing for my ALC. 💜

This was good to me but not great. I was intrigued enough to continue reading, but the pacing was off for me. I felt like I was missing a lot because I had not read the first two books in this series even though it is noted as a standalone. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters fully which I believe was because of the pacing. The chemistry between them just seemed a little off. They went from her being flirty and him being like it's never going to happen to I think I am in love within a short span. I did think everything about Blakely was very eye opening in regards to being in a job where you are in the public eye. I appreciated how Emily handled the topics of heavy anxiety, depression and eating disorders. I appreciated how much Jackson supported her through all of this and was ultimately the only person in her corner that recognized she needed help. I liked the age gap between them and that even though Blakely handled everything poorly overall she just needed someone to believe in her for HER not for what she put online. I think Jackson did a good job navigating those waters with her and helping her to the other side.

Blakely has an image to uphold for her followers. She has events to attend and outfits to where. She has to eat healthy. She hates reading the comments people say about her. So she does what she can to avoid them. Something that has recently caught her eye though is Jackson Rhoades- a man working for her father. He is older and so handsome. And she loves needling him and getting a rise out of him. She has to put on this front like she has more experience than she does, but she realizes rather quickly that he can see right through her charade. She secretly likes that he can see that side of her and still be around. She LIKES the attention he gives her because it is for the real her. But her inner demons are hard to not listen to. She thinks he won't like her for long or he won't stay around long- no one in her life seems to. But Jackson seems to be here to prove her and her thoughts wrong. He makes her feels things she hasn't felt before. He makes her feel safe. But then their secret relationship blows up in her face and she is forced to make a harsh decision that will ultimately save him. Of course it backfires and Blakely finds herself asking the hard questions and recognizing she needs to take some time for herself before she can be the woman she wants to be for Jackson.

Jackson is literally living his dream. Or him and his father's dream. He has always wanted to work on cars, and that is what he is doing. He needed to take some time away from his small town and all that heartache. So here he is in California. Noticing his 19 year old boss's daughter. The one who can't seem to stop trying to poke at him. The beautiful one who lives in a world he never has bothered to play in- social media. But he finds himself intrigued enough to play back. And before he knows it lines are crossed. He really likes HER. HER without the mask. The woman that no one gets to see but him. It makes him feel special that she shows him and no one else. But there are so many demands with her job that seem to hurt her and somehow she doesn't see it. She doesn't see that she needs help. That her anxiety is taking control and that the only person in her life who seems to have her back is him. He is willing to stand up and shout that they are together for the world to know. But she is scared of the backlash. So when she makes a decision without him to ultimately save him, he cuts town and decides to lick his wounds at home. He knows he loves the real woman in there but doesn't know if she will ever be ok enough to just be with him.

There were a lot of heavier topics discussed in this one. Like I mentioned anxiety, depression, eating disorders as well as family problems and death of a parent (not on page). I appreciate those heavier topics sometimes as unfortunately that is part of life and thought that Emily did a great job of navigating that territory. I just had a hard time with the pacing which affected other things. I felt like I had whiplash when I was trying to keep up with the trajectory of their story. I am honestly not sure if I am interested enough to continue the series, but we shall see. I also had a hard time with the male narrator which probably also affected my enjoyment of this too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Huge thank you for the ALC from Blackstone Publishing via NetGalley!

I love Emily’s work and I was super excited to get picked for this one! I really liked the way Emily wrote about Blakely’s mental health and disordered eating, it was written really sensitively. It had all the age gap romance you’d expect and was a super sweet romance.

I loved Brooke Bloomingdale as Blakey but I struggled with Liam as Jackson. He sounded very forced and false which is where the audio let me down.
Overall it was a good reread!

I would give this book 5 stars, but the male narrator decreased its worth.
Here me out: I LOVED everything about this book (character portrait, her business, serious topics like ED, father-daughter bonding, age gap, steam, sex scenes) and then I adored the female narrator. But that guy: I can't with his mimicking female voices.

They sounded too childish and spoiled for me.

But, beside that: 10/10. Would get it in paper copy!

Beneath the Hood is the third interconnected standalone in the Sugarlake series. This book follows Jackson. He is a heartthrob who recently moved to LA after he was offered his dream job, restoring classic cars, but it turned out to be keeping an eye on his boss's daughter.

Blakely is a big influencer who feels the pressure to keep up wth appearance. The pressure to be perfect caused her anxiety, but also for her to became obsessed with counting and calories. Blckely works at her father's business and loves to pester Jackson. She was given more opportunities to do that when they started spending time together.

I enjoyed the bantering between the two and watching the transformation of their relationship. At first, Jackson thought Blackely was an annoying, entitled 19-year-old. He later saw beyond the surface and became her main support person.

I enjoyed the narration by Brooke Bloomingdale and Liam DiCosimo. However, I wasn't a fan of when Liam did the feminine voices.

Absolutely LOVED this story. Anything that Emily writes is amazing. The narration for this was so good. I love Liam Dicosimo.

This age gap, forbidden romance was emotional and beautifully written. Jax and Blakely’s story touched on tough topics like mental health and self worth while building a slow burn romance full of tension and growth. Their connection felt deep and real, and I loved watching them help each other heal.
The narration was expressive and brought the characters to life. Jax is sweet and strong, and Blakely is more vulnerable than she seems. Emily McIntire does a great job blending romance with real issues. It’s a heartfelt, swoony listen that makes you root for both characters until the very end.

This one really pulls at the heart. It takes on many different life challenges so definitely look at trigger warnings.
I really loved the MMC. He was always so good and had a big heart. I really enjoyed his chapters.

The healing in this story was incredibly moving to me. Women (in my experience) are told constantly that we aren’t good enough, skinny enough, and pretty enough, so to have a character going through that in the public eye was beautiful. I loved Jackson in the previous 2 books, so I was so glad to get his story and to see him get over what he thought was love. I did find the age-gap a little cringey, but overall I loved the story!

Beneath the Hood is an age gap romance between influencer Blakely and Jackson, who works on classic car restoration in Hollywood. While I ended up enjoying this book, I found it difficult to get into it at first. The narrators did a good job bringing the characters to life. However, I feel like my issues with this story was more on my part than anything. This isn’t my first Emily McIntire novel and it won’t be my last, just like the others I’ve read the story was easy to follow and the characters felt really flushed out l, I just feel like this story just wasn’t for me. I appreciate the opportunity to listen to this. Thank you.